Atlanta police have arrested a man at Publix supermarket carrying a semiautomatic rifle, four handguns, and a shotgun while wearing body armor, just two days after 10 people were brutally murdered at a grocery store in Colorado.
The suspected man is identified as 22-year-old Rico Marley. He has been charged with reckless conduct.
The incident took place around 1:30 pm local time when a witness saw Marley entering the Publix grocery store’s bathroom carrying a cache of weapons. The witness called the police and the suspected man was immediately arrested as he left the bathroom.
No one was injured during the incident.
The Publix grocery store released an official statement after the incident in which they assured to keep on working towards the safety and security of their associates and customers on a priority basis.
Publix grocery store was immediately closed down. The store’s administration cooperated completely with the local law enforcement agencies.
The eyewitness Charles Russel told the reporters that he saw a man going towards the bathroom with ammunition and he immediately notified the workers at the store. He claimed that he was kind of startled when he saw an AR-15 and it reminded him immediately of the shooting incident at the King Soopers’ supermarket in Colorado which resulted in 10 casualties.
10 people were killed at King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado on Monday, whereas eight individuals lost their lives in a merciless shootout in the Atlanta area. Robert Aaron Long was arrested on account of eight murders in the Atlanta shootings, and 21-year-old Ahmed Al Aliwi Alissa was arrested for killing 10 individuals in the Colorado shooting incident.
Rico Marley is held at the Fulton County jail. The Grady Memorial Hospital Emergency Services was called to conduct a mental health evaluation on Marley and determine his mental health condition prior to further investigation.
The repeated incidents have fueled the gun control debate. And President Biden has urged Congress to move fast to ban assault weapons.
